A 5-year-old girl is recovering after a black widow spider bit her outside of her Massachusetts home, her family said.
The venomous insect bit Kailyn Donovan on the back of her knee about a week ago, leaving behind what turned into a large black-and-purple bruise, her mother Kristine Donovan told the Boston Globe.
“It’s not something you would expect, especially in Massachusetts,” the girl’s father Josh Donovan told WCVB. “I’ve never seen it.”
Kailyn is expected to make a full recovery after being treated by a pediatric infectious-disease doctor at the UMass Memorial Medical Center.
Black widow spiders are common in the southern and western parts of the U.S. and usually bite when humans come into contact with their webs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The insects have a red marking on the underside of their abdomen. Venom from their bites causes pain at the affected area, which can spread to the chest, abdomen or the entire body. The bites can be fatal, but such cases are rare.
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